good day.. can we impose sanctions on suppliers who habitually purchase bidding documents and yet fail to submit bids? can we require them to justify there failure to submit bids before letting them again buy bidding documents for another project?

engr2965 wrote:good day.. can we impose sanctions on suppliers who habitually purchase bidding documents and yet fail to submit bids? can we require them to justify there failure to submit bids before letting them again buy bidding documents for another project?

Welcome to the forum engr2965!

You can only impose sanctions on those bidders who habitually purchase bidding documents, submit bid proposals and then habitually withdraw their bids without justifiable cause. You may ask them of the reasons why they cannot submit a bid proposal but that cannot be a ground for not allowing them to purchase bid documents again.

engrjhez®

Grand Master

Number of posts : 2481Age : 39Company/Agency : City Government of Bacoor [Region IV-A, Province of Cavite]Occupation/Designation : Office of the City Legal Service (OCLS) / Certified National Trainer - PhilGEPSRegistration date : 2008-10-31

can we still require prospective bidders to submit eligibility documents and to pass eligibility screening first (in the case of walk-in clients) before issuing them bidding documents?

I will try to answer first the heading. The decision to purchase and join the bidding process is unilateral. The Procuring Entity can not force a prospective bidder to submit and join the bidding process. Whether he joins or not is something that the Procuring entity has no control even if he has procured the bidding documents.

As to the second question, the Revised Government Procurement Reform Act specifically Annex "C" is very clear that the Procuring entity should be ready to issue the Bidding Documents on the first day of advertisement/posting of Invitation to Bid. I hope I have answered your question sir.

engr2965 wrote:can we still require prospective bidders to submit eligibility documents and to pass eligibility screening first (in the case of walk-in clients) before issuing them bidding documents?

No. As pointed out by jcolas, the bidding documents (for goods and civil works) must be available from the first day of advertisement o Invitation to Bid until the deadline for submission and receipt of bids. The bidders should be able to download/inspect bidding documents even if they have not paid for the bidding documents fee, provided that the said fee must be paid/settled prior to their submission of bids.

engrjhez®

Grand Master

Number of posts : 2481Age : 39Company/Agency : City Government of Bacoor [Region IV-A, Province of Cavite]Occupation/Designation : Office of the City Legal Service (OCLS) / Certified National Trainer - PhilGEPSRegistration date : 2008-10-31

Newbie in the forum.. Talking about purchasing of BID Documents, I went to the City of Pasig BAC Office since I was interested in one of their projects (vehicles).

However, when I talked to one of their staff, he told me to talk to the Vice Chairman. The Vice Chairman said that we should submit our eligibility requirements first before they allow us to purchase these documents. I mentioned that since this is a public bidding, anyone who is interested are allowed to do so (please correct me if I'm wrong). He then told me to go and talk to the BAC Chairman (the City Engineer).

We then proceeded to the Chairman's office and we were told the same thing (to submit eligibility requirements first). His reason was in order to save time and also to check if a bidder is indeed qualified (I see it as if they are pre-screening bidders). Citing one example where one of the winners in their recent bidding was from Cebu. Therefore, post qual was to be done in Cebu.

Sorry for the very long "talata"

So Chiefs, submitting eligibility documents first before being allowed to purchase documents? Is this allowed?

Newbie in the forum.. Talking about purchasing of BID Documents, I went to the City of Pasig BAC Office since I was interested in one of their projects (vehicles).

However, when I talked to one of their staff, he told me to talk to the Vice Chairman. The Vice Chairman said that we should submit our eligibility requirements first before they allow us to purchase these documents. I mentioned that since this is a public bidding, anyone who is interested are allowed to do so (please correct me if I'm wrong). He then told me to go and talk to the BAC Chairman (the City Engineer).

We then proceeded to the Chairman's office and we were told the same thing (to submit eligibility requirements first). His reason was in order to save time and also to check if a bidder is indeed qualified (I see it as if they are pre-screening bidders). Citing one example where one of the winners in their recent bidding was from Cebu. Therefore, post qual was to be done in Cebu.

Sorry for the very long "talata"

So Chiefs, submitting eligibility documents first before being allowed to purchase documents? Is this allowed?

Welcome to the forum, vet_whatever!

Requiring submission of eligibility requirements first before one is allowed to purchase bid docs is against the rules, unless the procuring entity (City of Pasig) has an electronic registry. If it does not have any registry of suppliers/contractors or what it has is only a manual registry and not an electronic registry similar to the PhilGEPS, then it could not demand submission of eligibility requirements first.

You are correct in saying that it seems a 'pre-screening' or a pre-qualification of bidders which is not allowed in RA 9184. What is allowed is post-qualification. You are also correct that anyone interested to join should be allowed to purchase bidding documents and submit the eligibility requirements as part of the bidder's technical proposal.

If you are not allowed still, you write the BAC a request for reconsideration citing the pertinent provisions of R.A. 9184 and its IRR.

Thank you for your reply Sir and for the warm welcome. Unfortunately, we can no longer request for a reconsideration since the bidding has been conducted yesterday. During the pre-bidding, I clarified with the BAC if it is a requirement to submit these documents first and they said that it is not needed.

Aside from the fact that this office requires interested bidders to submit eligibility requirements, the documents that they require to be submitted are Certified True Copies from concerned agencies. I have nothing against it but they can always just ask the suppliers to bring with them the original copies.

Would there be any appropriate department that I can raise this issue to? I have heard that this is the practice being done in the City of Pasig BAC. All their projects requires submission of eligibility documents before being allowed to purchase bid documents.

vet_whatever wrote:Thank you for your reply Sir and for the warm welcome. Unfortunately, we can no longer request for a reconsideration since the bidding has been conducted yesterday. During the pre-bidding, I clarified with the BAC if it is a requirement to submit these documents first and they said that it is not needed.

You may try writing the HOPE just to inform him/her that the BAC did not follow the proper bidding procedure and you may ask the HOPE to declare the bidding a failure in accordance with Sec. 41 of the IRR.

vet_whatever wrote:Aside from the fact that this office requires interested bidders to submit eligibility requirements, the documents that they require to be submitted are Certified True Copies from concerned agencies. I have nothing against it but they can always just ask the suppliers to bring with them the original copies.

Submission of certified true copies is not even necessary or should be required since the Omnibus Sworn Statement already contains a certification that all the documents submitted are true and correct and therefore all the documents no longer need individual certification because the omnibus certification is already sufficient. The original copies also need not be required to be brought during bid opening as the verification could be done during post-qualification.

vet_whatever wrote:Would there be any appropriate department that I can raise this issue to? I have heard that this is the practice being done in the City of Pasig BAC. All their projects requires submission of eligibility documents before being allowed to purchase bid documents.

If you were not given the opportunity to file a request for reconsideration, you can file your appropriate relief before the RTC. You may also bring the matter to the HOPE so that the latter can exercise powers under the Reservation Clause which is granted under Sec. 41 of the IRR, or you can file a case before the Ombudsman.

The City Government of Pasig thru the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) invites interested suppliers / contractors to apply for eligibility screening and if subsequently found eligible to bid for the procurement of _____________________

To the last post of vet_whatever, the title 'INVITATION TO APPLY FOR ELIGIBILITY AND TO BID" is no longer the correct title based on the revised IRR and the Phil Bidding Documents for Goods and Civil Works. This is so because the eligibility screening is done on the same day of the opening of bids. So that both the Eligibility Documents (Legal, TEchnical and Financial) and the financial proposal or the bid price are submitted at the same time,

Unlike in the old IRR where the BAC schedule first the eligibility screening then those who ere found to be eligibile are the only ones allowed to buy the bidding documents and another schedule for the actual bidding. In the REvised IRR, all interested bidders are allowed to purchase. They can even download the bidding docs from the PhilGEPS or agency website free of charge provided they pay the fee when they submit their bids.

Perhaps, the City of Pasig BAC is not aware yet of the new IRR which took effect Sept. 2009 pa or 2 years in effect already. PEACE!

The City Government of Pasig thru the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) invites interested suppliers / contractors to apply for eligibility screening and if subsequently found eligible to bid for the procurement of _____________________

Is this allowed mga chiefs?

Nope. As Ms. Fe Araya correctly pointed out, we are now under the regime of the Revised IRR since Sept. 03, 2009. For goods and infra, eligibility check is conducted at the same time of bid opening, and not on a separate date before it. The correct titles for public bidding should be INVITATION TO BID for goods/infra and REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST for consulting services.

engrjhez®

Grand Master

Number of posts : 2481Age : 39Company/Agency : City Government of Bacoor [Region IV-A, Province of Cavite]Occupation/Designation : Office of the City Legal Service (OCLS) / Certified National Trainer - PhilGEPSRegistration date : 2008-10-31

may i join the thread. is it proper for the BAC to require that expression of interest to participate should be done only through electronic means? meaning, physical submission is not entertained and that release or acceptance of bid documents shal be made only after reciept of confirmation email from the BAC. the reason "daw" is to avoid fly-by-night representative of bidders who often use the name of a bidder.

arsbib wrote:may i join the thread. is it proper for the BAC to require that expression of interest to participate should be done only through electronic means? meaning, physical submission is not entertained and that release or acceptance of bid documents shal be made only after reciept of confirmation email from the BAC. the reason "daw" is to avoid fly-by-night representative of bidders who often use the name of a bidder.

Not proper. There is no legal basis on such restriction. Electronic submission of REI s also not a guarantee that fly by night bidders would not be present.

engrjhez®

Grand Master

Number of posts : 2481Age : 39Company/Agency : City Government of Bacoor [Region IV-A, Province of Cavite]Occupation/Designation : Office of the City Legal Service (OCLS) / Certified National Trainer - PhilGEPSRegistration date : 2008-10-31

vet_whatever wrote:I have made an observation regarding LGUs. All of them require suppliers to register with their BAC first before being allowed to bid. Just confirmed this with Batangas and Cam Sur.

Just sharing.. Maybe they are all still following the unamended RA9184?

It is actually not a requirement but it is mutually beneficial for both suppliers and PE to have a registry. This is provided for under the IRR to facilitate eligibility check. Still it should not restrict non-registered suppliers/contractors from participating.

engrjhez®

Grand Master

Number of posts : 2481Age : 39Company/Agency : City Government of Bacoor [Region IV-A, Province of Cavite]Occupation/Designation : Office of the City Legal Service (OCLS) / Certified National Trainer - PhilGEPSRegistration date : 2008-10-31

May I inquire regarding bidders who purchased bid documents but instead of submitting bid documents, they sent us letter of Non-participation to the Bidding because their detailed estimates is higher than the ABC, among other other reasons. Does the above-mentioned letter mean they will not be considered as bidders? Hence, the fees for the bid documents (rather participation to bidding) be returned? Will the BAC be required to return the bidding fee? please enlighten me. Thank you.

melubilas wrote:May I inquire regarding bidders who purchased bid documents but instead of submitting bid documents, they sent us letter of Non-participation to the Bidding because their detailed estimates is higher than the ABC, among other other reasons. Does the above-mentioned letter mean they will not be considered as bidders? Hence, the fees for the bid documents (rather participation to bidding) be returned? Will the BAC be required to return the bidding fee? please enlighten me. Thank you.

Unless there is an express tender of withdrawal (of bid), the bidder may still submit bid envelopes before the deadline for submission and receipt of bids.

The bidding documents fee remains to be non-refundable unless the bidding process is terminated by the procuring entity through no fault of the bidder.

If the bidder fails or refuses to submit a bid, the BAC is not required to refund the bidding documents fee.

engrjhez®

Grand Master

Number of posts : 2481Age : 39Company/Agency : City Government of Bacoor [Region IV-A, Province of Cavite]Occupation/Designation : Office of the City Legal Service (OCLS) / Certified National Trainer - PhilGEPSRegistration date : 2008-10-31

Thank you engrjhez. May I be clarified of the phrase "express tender of withdrawal (of bid)"? Does this include submission of withdrawal letter or letter of non-participation prior to the deadline of submission of bids? Thank you once again.